BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Raises Stock Holdings in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its stake in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 14.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 209,608 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 27,153 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp's holdings in Southern were worth $17,255,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Syverson Strege & Co boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 4,264 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $351,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Providence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Southern by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 41,073 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,381,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC now owns 32,508 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,676,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Southern by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 895 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. Finally, Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. raised its stake in shares of Southern by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. now owns 6,200 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $510,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Performance

SO stock traded up $0.34 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $89.98. The company had a trading volume of 1,142,728 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,482,093. The Southern Company has a 1-year low of $76.64 and a 1-year high of $94.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $89.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $87.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The firm has a market cap of $98.89 billion, a PE ratio of 22.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.40.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.03. Southern had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 12.23%. The company had revenue of $7.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.03 EPS. Southern's revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. This is an increase from Southern's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.64%.

Insider Activity at Southern

In other Southern news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 32,190 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.12, for a total transaction of $2,997,532.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 106,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,946,985.28. This trade represents a 23.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Martin Bernard Davis sold 1,125 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.61, for a total transaction of $100,811.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 102,090 shares in the company, valued at $9,148,284.90. This trade represents a 1.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Mizuho upped their price target on Southern from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. KeyCorp cut shares of Southern from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $78.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $92.21.

Southern Profile

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations.